Biomechanical cycling pedal

ABSTRACT

A cycling pedal assembly including a body configured to slide and pivot on a horizontal rotational axis formed by an axle, roller bearing, and spherical rolling joint.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to cycling equipment, and more specifically, a biomechanical pedal.

2. Background Information

Bicycle pedals have evolved from simple counterbalanced brass sleeves as illustrated in the first US patent issued for the improvement to velocipedes, to ball-bearing mounted pedal bodies with rubber treads or narrow cage plates. To further the pedal's usefulness, clip retention systems that allow for a pull stroke during a crank rotation were incorporated into the pedal body. The first clip systems were simple wire cages and straps that surrounded the cyclist's shoe, similar to clip systems used today.

It was not until the 1980s when the commercially successful one-sided clipless road-bike pedal with a broad contact area pedal body and locking-binding mechanism was invented that most cyclists in the class—whether recreational riders or professional racers—began to use a clipless pedal. The specialized shoe required for use with the locking-binding mechanism was not adapted well for walking; the interchangeable, large three-bolt cleat that is used to determine whether the shoe remains fixed or floats—where and how far—is positioned on the shoe's outsole.

Several years later, a commercially successful two-sided clipless pedal with small contact area plates and open-locking mechanism was invented. The specialized shoe required for use with the open-locking mechanism was adapted for walking, with multiple positioning-locations in the shoe's midsole for a small, recessed two-bolt cleat that floats on a bolt-plate.

A desired characteristic of broad contact area clipless pedals is power transfer across a wide area of the shoe, which prevents painful hotspots common with small contact area pedals. An undesired characteristic of broad contact area clipless pedals is friction resistance affecting how easily the shoe will float when applying force to a pedal throughout a rank rotation. As a result, broad contact area clipless pedals float less efficiently than small contact area clipless pedals, therefore, less effectively preventing injuries commonly incurred from pedaling a bicycle.

Considering the above, there is a need for a broad contact area pedal that pivots with a low friction coefficient in a limited left and right direction of movement. The present embodiment of the biomechanical pedal addresses this need for the prior art, and from this disclosure, it will become apparent to those skilled in the art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The assembly relates to an improvement upon a known apparatus for turning a crankset commonly seen in bicycles.

The present embodiments object is to connect a cyclist to a crankset with a biomechanical pedal that prevents injuries commonly incurred from repetitive motion strain.

The above object is achieved with an assembly comprised of a body that spins and pivots without translation on a spherical roiling joint attached to the second end of the axle shaft, and spins and slides on a roller bearing mounted approximate the first end of the axle shaft. Thus, some biomechanical pedal features have been broadly outlined so that the detailed description may be better understood and contribution to the art better appreciated.

There are additional features of the biomechanical pedal described herein and will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. It is to be understood the pedal is not limited in its application to the details of construction or arrangements of the components outlined in the description and illustrated in the drawings.

The biomechanical pedal is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood the language used herein is for description and should not be regarded as limiting.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The present embodiment will become more fully understood from the accompanying drawings. Like elements are represented by reference numbers given by way of illustration only and thus are not limitative of the present embodiment.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a left biomechanical pedal, with an x1-left and x2-right direction of movement indicator, and y1-forward and y2-rearward range of movement indicator.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the pedal seen in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side perspective view of an axle, spherical rolling joint, and roller hearing.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional perspective view of the axle, spherical rolling joint, and roller nearing seen in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a top view of the pedal, with an xy-axis marker, and x1-left and x2-right direction of movement indicator.

FIG. 6 is a top view of the pedal seen in FIG. 6 when the body is pivoted in the x1-left direction.

FIG. 7 is a top view of the pedal seen in FIG. 5 when the body is pivoted in the x2-right direction.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The drawings in FIGS. 1-7, illustrate a biomechanical pedal 60 comprised of an axle 10, spherical rolling joint 20, roller bearing 30 and body 50.

The body 50 seen in FIG. 1 is a rigid structure likely to be made of a lightweight metal alloy, carbon fiber, or resin that can withstand the combined axial and radial loads a cyclist creates during a crank rotation and impact event. The body 50 is configured with a fore rail 51, aft rail 52, and tread 53 that together form a broad contact area 51-53 for the cyclist's shoe, which can be adapted for use with a clip or clipless retention system. As seen in FIG. 2 the u-shape spherical rolling joint housing 55 fixed to the bottom of the tread 53 is used to rotatably connect the body 50 to the axle shaft 13 by housing a spherical joint 20 inside the cylindrical race chamber 57. Illustrated on the tread 53 seen in FIGS. 5-7 is an xy-axis marker that identifies the point where the body 50 pivots on the spherical rolling joint 20. Fixed approximate the first end of the tread 53, as seen in FIG. 1, is a bearing bracket 54 that movably links the body 50 to the axle shaft 13 by encircling a roller bearing 30. A clearance between the bearing bracket's 54 elongated-circle shape race-track 56 and the roller bearing's 30 partitioned outer race 31 allows the body 50 to slide in the y1-forward and y2-rearward range of movement without friction resistance. The limited y1-forward and y2-rearward range of movement the body 50 can slide are set by the length of the race-track 56 and fixed vertical positioning of the bearing bracket 54 on the tread 53.

An example biomechanical pedal 60 configuration with a bearing bracket 54 having a race-track 56 with an inside length of 19 mm, will slide 2 mm in the y1-forward range and 2 mm in the y2-rearward range when the race-track 56 is positioned vertical center of the horizontal rotational axis formed with an axle 10, spherical rolling joint 20, and roller bearing 30 having a 15 mm diameter. Another example biomechanical pedal 60 configuration with a bearing bracket 54 having a race-track 56 with an inside length of 21 mm, will slide 2 mm in the y1-forward range and 4 mm in the y2-rearward range when the race-track 56 is positioned 1 mm forward of the horizontal rotational axis' vertical center.

The biomechanical pedal 60 can be distinctively configured to align with a cyclist's individual toe-orientation by positioning the horizontal center of the contact area 51-53 left, at, or right of 90° from the horizontal rotational axis with the spherical roiling joint housing 55 and bearing bracket 54 fixed at 90° from the horizontal rotational axis. Additionally, the biomechanical pedal 60 can be configured to pivot according to a cyclist's individually changing toe-orientation throughout a crank rotation by positioning the spherical rolling joint housing 55 left, on, or right of the tread's 53 horizontal center and forward, on, or rearward of the tread's 53 vertical center with the bearing bracket 54 positioned forward, center, or rearward of the horizontal rotational axis' vertical center with the spherical rolling joint housing 55 and bearing bracket 54 fixed at 90° from the horizontal rotational axis configured with an axle shaft 13 that lines up to the cyclist's stance width.

Typical in-toe and out-toe orientations can be accommodated with the horizontal center of the contact area 51-53 positioned at or approximate 90° from the horizontal rotational axis with the spherical rolling joint housing 55 positioned on or approximate the horizontal and vertical center of the tread 53, with a bearing bracket 54 having a race-track 56 with a short y1-forward and y2-rearward range of movement positioned on the tread 53 at or approximate the vertical center of the horizontal rotational axis. An example biomechanical pedal 60 configuration for a cyclist with a typical in-toe orientation will have a race-track 56 fixed vertical center of the horizontal rotational axis that slides 3 mm in the y1-forward range and 3 mm in the y2-rearward range. When sliding 3 mm in the y1-forward range, the body 60 will pivot 3 mm in the x1-left direction; and when sliding 3 mm in the y2-rearward range, the body 50 will pivot 3 mm in the x2-right direction.

Severe in-toe or out-toe orientations can be accommodated with the horizontal center of the contact area 51-53 positioned left or right of 90° from the horizontal rotational axis with the spherical rolling joint housing 55 positioned left or right of the tread's 53 horizontal center and forward or rearward of the tread's 53 vertical center, with a bearing bracket 54 positioned forward or rearward of the horizontal rotational axis' vertical center having a race-track 56 with a longer y1-forward and y2-rearward range of movement. An example biomechanical pedal 60 configuration for a cyclist with a severe in-toe orientation will have the horizontal center of the contact area's 51-53 fore rail 51 positioned 4 mm right of 90° from the horizontal rotational axis, a spherical rolling joint housing 55 fixed 5 mm left of the tread's 53 horizontal center and 2 mm rearward of the tread's 53 vertical center, and a bearing bracket 54 having a race-track 56 that will slide 2 mm in the y1-forward range and 4 mm in the y2-rearward range when positioned 1 mm forward of the horizontal rotational axis' vertical center. When sliding 2 mm in the y1-forward range, the body 50 will pivot 2 mm in the x1-left direction; and when sliding 4 mm in the y2-rearward range, the body 50 will pivot 4 mm in the x2-right direction. When pivoted 4 mm in the x2-right direction, the horizontal center of the fore rail 51 is positioned 8 mm right of 90° from the horizontal rotational axis.

The axle 10 seen in FIG. 2 is a high strength, high stiffness, metal alloy structure with a crank bolt 11 and bolt head 12 used to turn the axle 10 into a crank arm. The second end of the bolt head 12 seen in FIG. 4, functions as a retainer for the roller bearing's 30 first-row cylindrical-bearings 40. Adjacent to the second end of the bolt head 12 seen in FIG. 2, is an axle shaft 13 with a first end having a polished axle race 14 and snap-ring groove 15. Positioned on the second end of the axle shaft 13 is an externally threaded spherical race bolt 16. The biomechanical pedal 60 is configured to utilize an axle shaft 13 of any length to accommodate a cyclist's individual stance width.

The spherical rolling joint 20 seen in FIG. 4, is a multi-piece component that consists of an inner spherical race 21, and an outer cylindrical race 22-25 comprised of four separate rings: ring one 22, ring two 23, ring three 24, and ring four 25: a first-row of ball-bearings 42, and a second-row of ball-bearings 43.

The spherical race 21 is an internally threaded bail likely to be made of a lightweight metal alloy able to withstand bearing wear, which turns onto the externally threaded spherical race bolt 16 positioned on the second end of the axle shaft 13 seen in FIG. 2. When attached to the axle shaft 13, the spherical race 21 is stationary and prohibits translation when the body 50 pivots on the spherical rolling joint 20. The cylindrical race 22-25 seen in FIG. 2 is likely to be made of a lightweight metal alloy able to withstand bearing wear. In the middle of rings 22-24 are circular holes that are used to position the rings 22-24 around the spherical race 21. Ring four 25 is a solid component with a concave center that doses the cylindrical race 22-25 and protects the spherical rolling joint 20 from debris. Ring four 26 is externally threaded and turns into the internally threaded cylindrical race chamber 57 to firmly compressed rings 22-24 together and attach the body 50 to the spherical rolling joint 20. Two ball-bearing grooves are formed in the cylindrical race 22-25 when ring one 22 and ring two 23—each with half a bearing groove—are paired together to form the first ball-bearing groove 26; the second ball-bearing groove 27 is formed when ring three 24 and ring four 25—each with half a bearing groove—are paired together, as seen in FIG. 4. The first-row ball-bearings 42 are retained in the first ball-bearing groove 26, and the second-row ball-bearings 43 are retained in the second ball-bearing groove 27. Together, the first-row ball-bearings 42 and second-row ball-bearings 43 form the friction-reducing clearance between the cylindrical race 22-25 and spherical race 21 seen in FIG. 4.

The roller bearing 30 seen in FIG. 2, is a multi-piece component comprised of a partitioned race 31, first-row cylindrical-bearings 40, second row cylindrical-bearings 41, race washer 35, and snap-ring 36. The partitioned race 31 is likely to be made of a lightweight metal alloy able to withstand bearing wear. As seen in FIG. 4, the partitioned race 31 has a bore partition 32 used to form a first cylindrical-bearing groove 33 and a second cylindrical-bearing groove 34. The first-row cylindrical-bearings 40 and second-row cylindrical-bearings 41 seen in FIG. 4, support the partitioned race 31 when under a radial load and stabilize the partitioned race 31 when withstanding an axial load. The first-row cylindrical-bearings 40 are retained between the bolt head 12 and bore partition's 32 first end; the second-row cylindrical-bearings 41 are retained between the bore partition's 32 second end and the race washer 35 seen in FIG. 3. The roller bearing 30 is mounted to the axle race 14 via a snap-ring 36 seen in FIG. 3, which clips into the snap-ring groove 15 adjacent to the second end of the axle race 14. As seen in FIG. 4 the first-row cylindrical-bearings 40 and second-row cylindrical-bearings 41 roll on the axle race 18 to eliminate the need for an additional inner race ring that increases the bore diameter of the partitioned race 31.

In accordance with a first alternate embodiment of the biomechanical pedal 60, the horizontal rotational axis comprised of an axle 10, spherical rolling joint 20, and roller bearing 30 can be configured with the spherical rolling joint 20 attached on the right side of the axle shaft's 13 horizontal center with the roller bearing 30 mounted on the left side of the spherical roiling joint 20 to accommodate a cyclist's anatomical preference.

While only select embodiments have been chosen to illustrate the biomechanical pedal 60, various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the invention's scope as defined in the appended claims. 

What is claimed is: 1-8. (canceled) 9-17. (canceled)
 18. A bicycle pedal including: an axle comprising: a crank bolt with a bolt head to attach the axle to a crank arm, where the bolt head has a second end; a shaft with a first end, to mount a bearing; the shaft with a second end, to attach a spherical race; a body comprising: a contact area with a tread, forward rail, and rear rail; a bracket fixed to the tread to link the body to the bearing; a housing fixed to the tread to attach the body to a spherical rolling joint; and wherein the bracket and housing are positioned about the tread to receive a horizontal rotational axis; and the bracket is positioned right of the housing; the bearing having an outer race separated from an inner race by rolling elements; the spherical rolling joint having an outer race separated from an inner race by rolling elements; wherein the body spins on the spherical rolling joint and bearing, and when pivoting on the spherical rolling joint, the body slides on the bearing.
 19. A bicycle pedal in accordance with claim 9, where the body pivots on the spherical rolling joint, according to the progressive toe orientation of a cyclist's foot throughout a crank rotation.
 20. A bicycle pedal in accordance with claim 9, where the housing is positioned on the tread's horizontal and vertical center, and the bracket is positioned on the tread's vertical center to align the contact area's horizontal centerline at 90° from the axle shaft.
 21. A bicycle pedal in accordance with claim 9, where the housing is positioned offset from the tread's horizontal and vertical center, and the bracket is positioned offset from the tread's vertical center to align the contact area's horizontal centerline at an angle that is greater than or less than 90° from the axle shaft, according to the in-toe or out-toe of a cyclist's standing toe orientation.
 22. A bicycle pedal in accordance with claim 10, where the body pivots about the spherical rolling joint, where a left, right, or combined left and right range of movement is determined by an inside length and fixed vertical positioning of the bracket about the tread, relative to the vertical center of the bearing.
 23. A bicycle pedal in accordance with claim 9, where the body slides on the bearing, without friction resistance when the inside height of the bracket is greater than a diameter of the bearing's outer race.
 24. A bicycle pedal in accordance with claim 9, where a partition in a bore of the bearing's outer race is used to form a first bearing groove and a second bearing groove, wherein the partition is braced between a first row of rolling elements and a second row of rolling elements to form the bearing that supports radial and axial loads.
 25. A bicycle pedal in accordance with claim 9, where the bore diameter of the bearing's partitioned outer race is reduced by positioning the first row and second row of rolling elements to roll on the shaft to eliminate the need for a retained inner race.
 26. A bicycle pedal in accordance with claim 9, where a threaded bolt positioned about the second end of the shaft, is used to attach an internally threaded spherical race to the shaft.
 27. A bicycle pedal in accordance with claim 9, where an internally threaded second end of the shaft is used to attach the spherical race by means of an externally threaded screw or polygon bolt.
 28. A bicycle pedal in accordance with claim 9, where multiple race rings are used to form a cylindrical race with multiple rolling element grooves, wherein a rolling element groove is formed in a bore of the cylindrical race by pairing two rings, each with half a rolling element groove, together to form a complete rolling element groove.
 29. A bicycle pedal in accordance with claim 9, where four race rings are fused to form a single cylindrical race with a first rolling element groove having a first row of retained rolling elements and a second rolling element groove having a second row of retained rolling elements, to separate the cylindrical race and spherical race.
 30. A bicycle pedal in accordance with claim 9, where race rings one and two are fused to form a first cylindrical race ring with a first rolling element groove having a first row of retained rolling elements, and race rings three and four are fused to form a second cylindrical race with a second rolling element groove having a second row of retained rolling elements, to separate the cylindrical race and spherical race.
 31. A bicycle pedal in accordance with claim 9, where a detachable spherical rolling joint housing attached to the tread, encases the cylindrical race to attach the body to the axle shaft rotatably. 